On the Table: Victoria's Secrets

She’s a sought-after interior designer. She has a collection of upscale furniture and fabrics that bears her name, plus she creates a line of budget-friendly accessories for Target. Oh, and she’s the mother of 10-year-old twin boys. One wonders just when New Yorker Victoria Hagan finds time to entertain. No problem, says the talented multitasker as she effortlessly puts together an elegant luncheon scheme dotted with autumnal accents of gold and green.

"I don’t like to take entertaining too seriously, or it can appear stuffy," says Victoria. "I like spontaneous get-togethers, being able to pull out my beautiful things and invite friends and family over at the last minute—no special occasion necessary. It’s fun to share your home; it’s more intimate and personal than dining in a restaurant."

In her tablescape, pulled from her own cupboard, antique salad plates with depictions of classical figures in gold lend opulence to basic silver chargers, and white intaglio-embossed plates add to the Arcadian motif. Round woven placemats in sage ground the suite of plates. Simple white linens sparkle with gold leaf-shaped napkin rings that subtly hint at the fall season.

To keep the setting casual, Victoria mixes gold and silver plates and chargers, placemats, and flatware, paying no heed to anybody’s rules about sticking with one metallic at a time.

In selecting crystal, Victoria decided to ignore all the intricate cut-crystal options. Instead, she chose modern-looking glasses decorated with a slight gold tinge and interesting beading. White ranunculus in an inconspicuous glass vessel in the center of the table and green snowball viburnum scattered around in smaller containers offer a simple and charming approach to table decoration.